Monthly Archives: November 2010

Residential building approvals have rebounded in NSW and Victoria, growing at 14.0% and 4.6% respectively in October, while building approvals in Queensland declined by 0.7%, according to today’s ABS building approvals data (see the seasonally adjusted data). Across Australia, building … Continue reading →

Wacol, on the western outskirts of Brisbane City, has not had a salubrious history.  Its name derives from a weighbridge which weighed coal at the railway station – “weigh coal” became Wacol.  Today it is best known for its prison, … Continue reading →

The latest Fitness First Magazine (Nov 2010, p. 127) reports that 60% of adults in Queensland are overweight or obese (i.e. with a Body Mass Index of 25 or over), based on new research conducted by Galaxy Research.  The full … Continue reading →

Given the pretty ordinary performance of governments across Australia in recent years (e.g. killer home insulation programs, loans being granted without proper approval, never-ending buck passing on our inadequate health system), you might expect some restraint among our pollies and … Continue reading →

Throughout Queensland’s history, the State Government has, at times, over-reached and intervened excessively in the economy – with one memorable example being the 90 or so State-run butcher shops which operated between 1915 and 1929 (see this heritage register entry … Continue reading →

There is a risk that plastic shopping bags will be banned nationwide in a token, feel good effort to look after the environment.  Friday’s Sydney Morning Herald (Ban on plastic bags spreads to Tasmania) reported: MOMENTUM appears to be growing … Continue reading →

This week’s sale of Port of Brisbane for $2.3 billion to a consortium including QIC (a government-owned corporation) generated a few laughs.  For example, Professor John Quiggin of Queensland University observed: Bligh and Fraser sell Port of Brisbane … to … Continue reading →